Author Archives: M.A.D. LIGAYA
Beyond Schooling
We stop schooling at a certain age but we should never stop learning. Learning is a lifelong endeavor and education is not confined in the four corners of the academe. The process of acquiring the desired knowledge, skills and values should continue even after graduation.
Schooling is not the only way to learn. There are other ways to obtain knowledge, to develop skills, and to cultivate the values required for us to become the best that we can be and function as productive members of society.
The foregoing assertions should not be construed as an attempt to undervalue schooling rather they should be viewed as arguments against the perception that not going to school to get a formal education is a reason for us not to be able to maximize our potentials and succeed.
Not everybody has the financial resources to afford formal education from kindergarten to at least college and not everybody who has the capability to pay would also have the interest and enthusiasm for schooling.
If parents are well-off, the higher the possibility for the children to finish at least an undergraduate degree. That is if said children believe that education is a key to securing a good future. It is rather ironic that sometimes those who have the money to spend for education are not motivated to go to school and those who have the motivation to do so don’t have the capability to pay.
For some, not having enough financial resources is not a hindrance in the pursuit of a good education. We heard a lot of narratives about people belonging to poor families who worked while studying, earned their degrees, then eventually succeeded in life.
But there are people who also attained success even if they have no university diploma. A few of them even made it to the Forbes’ list of richest persons in the world. The oft-repeated stories of the Bill Gates and the Steve Jobs of the world support the assertion that a bachelor’s degree (or higher – Master’s and PhD) is not the only key that could be used to unlock the doors to wealth, fame.
It can be argued that a university degree does not always guarantee success in life in the same manner that not having it means that a person’s future would be bleak. It all depends on how those who manage to earn degrees and those who did not play the cards their circumstances dealt them and the way they maximize their opportunities and whatever potentials they have.
There are degree holders who could not find decent jobs citing the lack of job opportunities as reason. Conversely, there are college dropouts who do not relish the idea of being under someone’s employ. So, they charted their own destinies and created their own opportunities. Check the list of the Forbes’ list of billionaires and you’ll be surprised to see some how many are actually college dropouts.
There are specific professions requiring prolonged training and certain qualifications that can be acquired only through formal education. This is when schooling becomes a necessity. But there are also occupations where formal education is not required. Artists, athletes, and business men for example need not have a university diploma. The degree they need is the degree of expertise they must exhibit in their respective arts, sports, and business.
It can also be argued that the schools could not possibly teach all of the competencies and skills we need to acquire aside from those required by whatever professions or occupations we have embraced. And even the said competencies and skills we learn while schooling need to be honed and upgraded. There’s more learning that must be done beyond schooling.
And there is one thing that we ought to learn when we start practicing our chosen profession or occupation – live a balanced life.
Life is not all about work and work is supposed to be “earning a living” and not “slowly killing one’s self.” While we may work hard to achieve whatever we want in life – money, degree, fame, and what have you, we should not sacrifice our relationships and health. Don’t work unreasonably hard that you may earn your millions just so you have money to spend for your hospitalization when you get sick. Living a balanced life means taking care of your work or business without sacrificing your health and disregarding the family and friends who need your attention.
Mga Maling Akala
Ang maling akala ay nakaka-istres. Wala itong magandang idinudulot. Para itong bumerang na kapag inihagis mo ay babalik sa iyo. Tanging ikaw lang ang maaapektuhan nito. Kasabihan pa nga na nakakamatay daw ang maling akala. Kaya makakabuti na umiwas dito. Iwasang mag-akala ng kung ano-ano. Ang payo nga ng “Eraserheads” eh bago maniwala’y mag-isip-isip ka muna.
Marami kang maling akala. Hindi ba’t inakala mo na ang lahat ng tao ay kikilos, magsasalita, at mag-iisip sa pamamaraang iyong inaasahan. Maling-mali ka diyan. Huwag mong asahan na ang kapwa mo ay susunod sa mga panuntunan at paniniwala mo kapag sila’y kumilos, nag-salita, at nag-isip. Tiyak na madidismaya ka lang at mai-istres. Baka pa masira ang tuktok mo sa kaiisip at sa sama ng loob eh sumabog ang iyong dibdib.
Hindi mo kontrolado ang pag-iisip ng ibang tao. Hindi mo puwedeng igiit sa kanila ang konsepto mo ng tama at mali. Tanging ang sarili mo lang ang puwede mong diktahan at manduhan. Hindi mo mapipigilan ang gustong gawin at sabihin ng ibang tao sa pamamaraang kanilang pipiliin. Tanging ang sarili mong kilos at pananalita lamang ang puwede mong bantayan.
Huwag mong isipin na porke natapos ng kolehiyo eh aasta na may-pinag-aralan. Ito ay isa pa sa mga mali mong akala. Minsan kung sino pa iyong hayskul lang o walang tinapos na ano mang antas ng edukasyon ay siya pang edukadong maituturing. Madalas kasi na kapag nagiging titulado ang tao ay tumataas masyado ang pagtingin sa sarili sa punto na nawawala ang respeto sa kapwa at nakakalimutan ang kababaang-loob. Akala ang diploma eh lisensiya upang maging walang-hiya at mapagmalaki.
Ang kagandahang-asal at kabutihang-loob kasi ay hindi lang sa paaralan itinuturo. Nagsisimula sa tahanan ang pagkakatuto sa mga bagay na ito. Tungkulin ng magulang na imulat ang kanilang mga anak sa mga ito.
At sana’y hindi mali na akalaing ginagampanan ng bawat magulang ang tungkuling ito dahil kung hindi, kung hindi naturuan ng mga tatay at nanay ang kanilang mga anak ng tamang disiplina, eh medyo mahihirapan na ang mga guro sa paaralan na turuan ang mga bata ng kagandahang-asal at kabutihang-loob.
Huwag mo ring isipin na porke may-gulang na eh husto na sa pag-iisip. May mga matanda na pero kilos-bata at isip-bata pa rin. Marami rin namang mga nasa katanghaliang-gulang o mas bata pa subalit kakakitaan mo na ng kahustuhan sa pag-iisip at pag-kilos.
Tama naman na i-base mo sa edukasyon ang mga ekspektasyon mo dahil nga sa kung nakapag-aral ang tao at nasa kahustuhang gulang na eh aasahan mong siya ay disente, matino, at maayos kung gumawa ng desisyon. Pero huwag kang pakakasiguro. Huwag kagyat na magtitiwala at umasa na ganito o ganoon siya dapat umasta porke siya ay edukado at nasa tamang-gulang. Magmatyag ka muna at makiramdam.
Eh paaano kung pala-simba ang tao, nagnonobena, at deboto pa ng kung sino-sinong santo? Kagyat mo ba siyang pagkakatiwalaan at aakalaing may takot siya sa Diyos? Lahat ba ng taong kakilala mo na tuwing Lingo at unang Biyernes ng buwan kung mag-simba ay puspos na ng kabanalan? Porke ba ang kakilala mo ay naglalakihan ang mga santong isinasali sa mga prusisyon o napaka-aktibo sa mga aktibidad ng simbahang kinaaaniban niya eh akala mo na maituturing na siyang isang taong banal at perpekto? Ikaw, nasa sa iyo iyan. Kung sa tingin mo nga ay katiwa-tiwala ang tao dahil halos sa simbahan na siya natutulog eh “good luck|” na lang.
Kasi nga napakadami daw na mga banal na aso at santong kabayo. Kaya nga natatawa si “Yano”…hihihihi! Paano daw ba naman eh iyong aleng kasabay niya sa jeep, nagrorosaryo habang nakapikit, na nang pumara sa kumbento eh hindi huminto ang mamang tsuper baka daw hulihin siya ng pulis. Nagmura nang nagmura daw iyong ale hanggang makababa.
Ikaw… may mga kakilala ka bang nagbanal-banalan? At teka, akala mo ba na lahat ng tinatawag mong father, sister, pastor at ministro ay puwedeng pagkatiwalaan? Maraming lobo ang nag-aanyong tupa. Kaya kaiingat ka!
Ingat ka rin sa mga tumatawag sa iyo ng brother at sister, sa mga inaakala mong kaibigan, dahil hindi lamang sa gubat maraming ahas. Minsan nga eh may mga ahas na ang tawag sa iyo eh BFF. Ingat ka sa mga kamag-anak ni Hudas. Ingat ka rin sa mga “kaibigan kapag may kaylangan.” Linta ang mga iyan,
Hindi ko sinasabing pagdudahan mo ang lahat ng taong nakapaligid sa iyo. Pinag-iingat lamang kita. Nais ko lamang na ikaw ay matutong magmatyag at makiramadam dahil nakakamatay nga ang maling akala. Kilatasin nang mabuti ang mga taong nakapaligid sa iyo at tiyakin mong ang pagtitiwalang ibibigay mo eh hindi mo pagsisihan.
Ang tunay na kaibigan eh parang ginto. Kilatisin mo sila ng mabuti. Alam mo naman siguro ang pagkakaiba ng ginto sa tanso. Sana sa bandang huli eh hindi mo sasabihing – “Akala ko si BFF ay 24-karat, peke pala.”
Heto ang pinakamatindi sa mga mali mong akala – na ang kapalaran mo ay nakaguhit na sa iyong palad bago ka pa man isilang.
Sa maniwala ka o hindi, ikaw ang guguhit ng sarili mong tadhana.
Huwag kang umasa sa suwerte. Akala mo ba na totoo na ang kapalaran ay umiikot na parang roleta at hihintayin mong huminto sa jackpot at pagkatapos ay “you will live happily ever after”? Eh paano kung sa bokya tumapat?
Huwag kang umasa kahit kanino upang iangat ang iyong sarili at makamit mo ang tagumpay na inaasam. Tama ka kung iniisip mo na tungkulin ng mga magulang na tiyakin na magkakaroon ka ng magandang kinabukasan. Dapat ka nilang palakihin at papag-aralin. Eh papaano kung wala talagang kakayahan ang iyon mga magulang na suportahan ang iyong pag-aaral? Tapos na ba ang laban mo?
Totoong may gulong ang kapalaran na iikot habang nilalakbay ang buhay. Pero ang gulong na naturan ay nakadugtong sa isang manibela. Hindi ka sasakay sa ibabaw ng gulong at baka pag-ikot nito ay magulungan ka bagkus ay humawak ka sa manibelang nakadugtong sa gulong. Darating ang panahon na dapat huminto ang mga magulang mo, o sino pa man, sa pagkontrol ng iyong buhay. Ikaw ang magpapasiya niyan kung kaylan.
Ikaw ang magdedesisyon kung kaylan mo hahawakan ang manibelang nakadugtong sa gulong ng iyong kapalaran upang ikaw na ang magmamanibora nito. Akala mo ba na magdaramdam ang mga magulang mo kong kung gagawin mo iyan? Hindi! Tiyak na magiging masaya sila kapag naramdaman o nakita nilang gusto mo nang hawanin ang mga damo at tinik sa daang gusto mong tahakin.
Kung walang kakayahan ang mga magulang mo na pag-aralin ka aba’y magtrabaho ka at mag-ipon upang matustusan mo ang iyong pag-aaral. At sana lang eh hindi ka isa sa mga nag-aakala na tungkulin ng gobyerno mo na bigyan ka ng trabaho. Mali ring akala iyan. Pasalamat ka kung may trabaho silang maibibigay sa iyo pero kung wala eh gumawa ka ng sarili mong paraan. Dumiskarte ka. Huwag ka nang dumagdag sa napakarami ng pasanin ng mga namamahala sa bayan natin.
At teka, akala mo ba na kaylangang tapos ka ng kolehiyo upang magtagumpay sa buhay? Maling akala rin iyan. Hindi lahat ng tao na nakarating sa rurok ng tagumpay ay may naka-graduate. Marami ang naging tanyag at yumaman kahit wala silang tinapos na kurso sa unibersidad. Sino sila at bakit sila nagtagumpay? I-google mo.
Uulitin ko – huwag mong i-asa sa iba ang pag-angat mo sa buhay at ang katuparan ng mga pangarap mo. Tanging ikaw lang makakagawa niyan. Siyempre, puwede mong sandigan ang Panginoon. Pero tandaan mo itong paulit-ulit nilang sinasabi – “Nasa Diyos ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa.”
Sa palagay ko’y nagkakamali ka kung akala mo na ang estado ng buhay mo sa kasalukuyan ay resulta ng kapalarang itinakda para sa iyo ng Panginoon. Kung miserable ba ang buhay mo ngayon eh hindi ako naniniwala na iyan ang itinakda ng Amang nasa langit para sa iyo? Baka naman may mga mali kang naging desisyon sa nakaran kaya ka nagkaganyan
Ang isang katotohan na sana ay matutuhan nating yakapin ay ito – ano man ang kahihinatnan ng buhay natin, ano mang meron tayo ngayon at kung saan tayo nakarating, ay resulta ng lahat ng desisyong ginawa at gagawin pa natin. Kaya sana maging maingat tayo sa anomang desisyon na gagawin natin.
Sabi nga ng “Eraserheads” – “Huwag kalimutang magdahan-dahan kung ‘di ka sigurado sa kalalabasan, kalalabasan ng binabalak mo.” Dagdag pa nila, “Hindi mo maibabaon sa limot at bahala kapag nabulag ka ng maling akala.”
Where Has “Positive Thinking” Brought Me?
“Positive thinking” as a concept is like a narrow street that seemingly leads to nowhere. When you embrace it and take the first few steps forward, it would make you feel like you’re not going anywhere.
Consider that normal. When you venture into the unknown and leave your comfort zone, it’s normal to feel iffy. It is your old negative mental programming taking control of your thought processes. As you take a few more steps forward, doubts would start to set in and you’ll be tempted to go back where you came from. That temptation to abandon the journey just beginning would become stronger when people around you start saying how crazy you are to even believe that “positive thinking” works. But should you succeed in conquering all the negative chatters and take the courage to just keep on walking you would soon hit the main road.
The main road that narrow street called “positive thinking” leads to is “personal growth and development.” That was what I personally discovered.
When I decided to dive deeper into “positive thinking,” I realized that it is but the tip of the iceberg. “Positive thinking” is not the main thing. “Personal growth and development” is.
My journey to “positive thinking” started with my accidental discovery of a “self-help” film. I stopped by a stall selling old (pirated) DVDs of old movies. The label (title) of the one of the DVDs – “The Secret” – caught my attention. It intrigued me. So, I picked it up thinking that it’s either a mystery-thriller or a sci-fi movie.
I described in full that encounter with “The Secret” in my essay entitled “Beyond Positive Thinking.”
It is that “self-help” film that got me into positive thinking. For me, anything that advocates positive change is worth my time and worth trying. I though I had nothing to lose but everything to gain when I decided to give it a try.
When I watched that film for the second time, I took off my “critic’s hat” and emptied my mind of all those philosophies that tried to filter all the information the film conveyed and was leading me to analysis paralysis. Anyway, all of those philosophies – all of those isms – which I previously learned were seemingly not leading me to what I want to be and what I want to achieve. Honestly, at that point in my life, I was not even so certain of what I really wanted to be and what I really wanted to achieve. That “self-help” film offered me an option, an opportunity to try another system of beliefs that might help me have clarity of purpose.
I really thought then that my PhD would transform me into the best version of myself. I was wrong.
So, I took a leap of faith and embraced “positive thinking.” I walked down that narrow street that seemingly led to nowhere. I struggled but succeeded in overcoming doubts, in shooting down skepticism, and in turning a deaf ear to the internal and external negative chatters.
And I don’t regret that decision I made.
Then I probed deeper. I read existing literature about “positive thinking” and watched lots of videos about it. That’s how I came to discover that it (“positive thinking”) is the narrow street that leads to the main road called “personal growth and development.”
“Positive thinking” is the springboard to “personal growth and development.” The former is the key to unlocking the latter. I strongly believe that only when a person develops dispositional optimism, when that person expects good things to happen, and when that person hopes that he/she could be a better person and live a better life that he/she would become open to the idea of undertaking the necessary steps to venture seriously into growing and developing further as a person.
When I reached the end of that narrow street of “positive thinking” and got to the main road of “personal growth and development,” I confirmed that indeed it (“positive thinking”) is just the beginning of the journey. The road ahead is long and winding. There’s much to be done. After the “thinking” comes the “doing.”
I discovered that in order to experience meaningful growth and development as a person, it would take more than “positive thinking.” There are other requirements aside from having a positive mindset. There are other things that ought to be done and these are what the gurus of “personal growth and development” commonly describe as the practices and habits that made extremely successful people who and what they are. These people became the best versions of themselves and had found the happiness, good health, and wealth they sought because of such practices and habits.
These practices and habits are actually very practical ones. They are not magical and out of this world stuffs. They are as follows: knowing your whys; embracing a solid belief system; goal setting; short and long-term planning; managing time effectively; developing self-discipline; practicing mindfulness; being purposive; becoming self-sufficient; and living a balanced life.
These are the things that Brendon Burchard, Tom Bilyeu, Jim Rohn, Wayne Dyer, Les Brown, Joe Dispenza, Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar, Tony Robbins, Simon Sinek, John Maxwell, Mel Robbins, and the like, recommend to people intending to maximize their potentials.
The above-mentioned experts in the field of “personal growth and development” pointed out also that extremely successful people have a common hobby – reading. They also practice meditation.
What I consider as the most significant among those practices or habits of people who reached the pinnacle of success in their fields of endeavors is “living a balanced life.”
“Balanced life” is a concept difficult to define definitively. It is so because people have different priorities and live different kinds of life.
But when I sifted through the works of advocates of “personal growth and development” I saw a common pattern about living a “balanced life” that made me understand what the concept is. And it is not rocket science.
Firstly – as people work hard to achieve what they want in life – money, degree, fame, and what have you – they should not disregard their health and relationships. Not disregarding health means eating the right food, getting enough rest, and exercising regularly. Not disregarding relationships means not forgetting that you have a family and friends needing your attention too.
Secondly (and lastly) – become a well-rounded person. Becoming a well-rounded person means bearing in mind that you are a physical, intellectual, emotional, and a social being (insert spiritual if you happen to believe in God). You should strive to develop in all these areas.
This is how far “positive thinking” brought me – to the discovery of these “personal growth and development” practices and habits. They seem to be simple, but believe me, they are easier said than done – especially if you have a fixed mindset and you keep looking at life and the world using a negative perspective.
INAY
Kaylan ko po ba ito dapat sulatin?
Kapag ba Inay hindi mo na puwedeng basahin?
Kaylan ko po ba ito dapat sabihin?
Kung pandinig mo ba INAY naglaho na’t
tinig ko’y ‘di na kayang dinggin?
Bago ang nakatakda’y maganap
… bago ang mga braso mo’y bawian ng lakas
at di na kayang gantihan ang higpit ng aking yakap
Eh isuot mo po INAY ang iyong salamin
Simpleng tula ko sana’y basahin.
INAY iyong damhim
Pagmamahal at pagtanging
Sa bawat taludtod padadaluyin
Maka-ina daw ako!
Aba’y dapat lang.
Kung ang ina ang anak ay ‘di malilimutan
Ang anak – ina’y ‘di puwedeng talikuran.
Ako’y nakarating sa gustong paroonan
Dahil nilingon ko sinapupunang pinaggalingan
Sinapupunang pinaglagakan
Ng buhay kong sa Panginoon ay hiram.
Noong bata ako’t walang muwang
INAY ‘di mo ako pinabayaan
Mga bisig mo’y nagsilbi kong duyan
Inaruga mo ako’t inalagaan
Dinisiplina’t tinuruan.
Kayo po ang una kong guro
Kay dami ninyo sa aking naituro.
Maraming… maraming salamat po!
Salamat po INAY at naituro mo sa akin –
…na magtiwala sa kakayahang angkin
…na sa Panginoon laging manalangin
Hindi ka perpekto INAY
Subalit mahal kitang tunay.
Bigkis nating Diyos ang pumanday
Mananatili hanggang sa kabilang-buhay.
Sorry Wisely
Sorry Wisely!
Talo ka nanaman.
Paano ka ba naman mananalo…
eh di ka qualified.
Ano?
Ah college graduate ka kamo!
Eh ano naman… kahit ba may PhD ka pa.
Ang tanong eh – may datung ka ba?
Wala! Wala! Walang… DATUNG
Kaya di ka qualified.
Ano?
Bakit kaylangan ng datung?
Susme!
We’re you born yesterday?
Oh kaninang madaling araw lang.
Ha?
Malinis kamo record mo.
Who cares…?
Nobody… nobody but you.
Dahil ang tanong eh – “Meron ka bang datung?”
Ha? Handa ka kamong maglingkod.
Hindi pala dapat Wisely pangalan mo.
Mas bagay sa iyo ang pangalang engot.
Ang hanap ng botante…
hindi ang handang maglingkod
Ang hanap nila’y – ang handang magbayad.
Pera-pera ang labanan tsong.
Gets mo na?
Ha?
Bakit ganun?
Aba malay ko.
Itanong mo kaya sa lolo mong panot.
Kaya… sorry na lang Wisely.
Better luck next time.
Try mo kaya mag-budots.
Baka makakuha ka next time ng –
mahigit labing-apat na milyong boto.
The Work Attitude of (Some) Expat Teachers
(A PERSONAL ESSAY)
I started teaching here in South Korea in 2013. For six years now (going 7) that I have been working with expat teachers from different parts of the world, mostly from countries where English is the native language. Rarely do South Korean universities hire Asian ESL teachers (like me).
Those years I worked with my fellow expat teachers allowed me to witness their brand of professionalism (or the lack of it). I saw their work, heard them talk, and witnessed how they behaved as persons and professionals. My being given by the university where I am teaching now the privilege to be a head professor for three (3) semesters a few years back allowed me also to have access to information about them. In addition, for the past four years, I have been a member of the university’s hiring committee and have gone over hundreds of résumés of ESL job applicants. A few of those applicants were first-timers, and the majority were attempting to transfer from other universities here. That enabled me to scrutinize their academic and employment background. I discovered that MANY of those moving from other universities are not teachers by profession, and it was their first time teaching when they were hired as ESL teachers here in South Korea. In the job interviews where I was assigned to be a member of the panel of interviewers, I came to know more about expat teachers.
Sometimes, even without me asking, tactless birds from the grapevine would tweet me a thing or two about my fellow expat teachers. I am also a member of an organization of Filipino professors teaching in different universities here in South Korea, and during our meetings, I would be getting more information about ESL teachers from different countries in their respective workplaces, which kind of confirmed my overall perception and observation about them.
I have become so awkwardly familiar with my fellow expat teachers’ behavior in the workplace. I can vividly describe their work attitude. And this personal essay is exactly that – an exposé about the work attitude of some expat teachers here in South Korea.
Anyway, these are just my personal observations. I may be wrong. But what if I am right?
Before I proceed, though, let me clarify that MOST of the expat teachers I worked with in the past years (and those who are still with me where I am currently teaching) are very good – personally and professionally. But as you may have noticed, I used MOST, not ALL, because there are a FEW bad apples.
Yes, there are a FEW bad apples. And you know how the saying goes – “One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel.” Of the bad decisions they make as persons and professionals, there is a possibility that employers will think that all expat teachers are like them. That’s my worry.
I hope that Koreans wouldn’t think that expat teachers are alike. MANY of us are serious with our work as ESL teachers here but those FEW who don’t might be creating a negative perception about us.
I witnessed how certain policies were changed in my workplace in response to some of my former colleagues’ bad decisions. Remember that when school administrators implement a new policy or amend an existing one in response to the wrongdoings of one bad apple, the changes will affect all expat teachers and not only the ones who did something wrong.
There are expat teachers everywhere who complain a lot about what they perceive as imperfections of the universities where they belong. Some of them would say, “In my country, this is not how we do things.” Others would make some unnecessary comments about this country and its people as if they themselves, their respective countries, and their countrymen are perfect and blameless. If that is the case, why did they decide to leave their countries and work here? If the universities back in their countries are the best and most ideal, why didn’t they apply for teaching jobs there? Why are they here in South Korea? Did they come here to whine?
This reminds me of what one of my former colleagues from the US said some time ago when he got so frustrated about the complaints of our fellow expat teachers – “Why can’t these people accept the fact that the reason they are here working as ESL teachers is that they couldn’t get a decent job back in their own countries.”
The problem with the expat teachers who have a lot of complaints about the policies in their universities, and granting that their complaints are valid, is that when their employers offer them a contract for the next school year they would sign their names on the dotted lines. They would return and still teach in the universities they malign so much.
Is that a dignified thing to do?
If these expat teachers think that the system in the universities where they are currently working is rotten, why do they keep coming back? (I personally know some of them.) Is salary the reason? Is it the reality that back in their countries, they will not be able to earn the money they are being paid here? Would they even qualify to teach in their universities (or are competent enough to be chosen among qualified applicants)? Is it the fear that should they not accept the contract their present university is offering them, they may not be able to convince another university to hire them?
These expat teachers claim that they are complaining because they want to change the system. Really? When will the Don Quixotes stop fighting the windmills? Okay, if they insist, here is my advice – They should request a meeting with their respective university Presidents and present to them their complaints and the reforms they want to implement. Let’s see what happens. If they are really the idealists that they are seemingly trying to project themselves to be, they should do this.
These expat teachers should express their grievances and suggest the reforms they want, not to their colleagues during meetings, but directly to university officials who have the power to implement changes. Or better yet, go either to the Ministry of Education or the Ministry of Labor and file a complaint against whatever it is that they think their university is doing wrong. That is if, aside from barking, they can also bite. That is, if they got balls. If none, they’d better keep quiet and just work. They should not waste their colleagues’ time listening to their whinges and whines.
One thing that I have noticed is that most of the expat teachers I met who are fond of complaining are the teachers who are not “trained to teach” but are “forced to teach.” They are not “real teachers” but “pretenders.” Please click this link if you want to know how I differentiated the “real teachers” from the “pretenders.”
How they conduct themselves as professionals deliver instruction, treat their students, and comply with the job requirements are telltale signs that they have no formal training as teachers. And truth be told – SOME expat teachers here in South Korea were not trained to teach. They have no degrees in education. They were lucky to have been hired. Well, they trained as teachers on the job. Hopefully, they eventually became “real teachers,” no longer “pretenders,” after a year or two. But wait… did they?
What is so frustrating is that the ones complaining a lot are not doing their job how they ought to. They do not comply with all the requirements. And with some of the tasks perennially performed by teachers, they still had to bother their colleagues for assistance. I witnessed how SOME of them swept their incompetence under the rugs of their complaints. They thought that they could hide their inability to perform and deliver by verbally attacking school policies and administrators who were not present to defend themselves or refute what they (the whiners) are saying. There were times that I had to call the attention of a few of my fellow expat teachers for taking the floor too long during meetings to needlessly complain about something. This made me unpopular with them. The exchange between us would usually get heated. I had to do it to prevent meetings from dragging on too long.
How surprised I was when one time, a few of my fellow expat teachers complained about reading long (job-related) emails. Let’s say it would take an extra 5 minutes to read an email longer than usual. What is an extra 5 minutes when compared to the more or less 5 months in a year that we get paid while vacationing and doing almost nothing job-related?
I have some colleagues who voice their discontent about policies but, at the same time, perform their functions as best as they could. Their students never complained about being shortchanged. They know that whatever disagreement they have with policies, it’s between them and the school administrators. The students should never be caught in the crossfire. They help in solving issues that could be remedied. They are professionals, and I admire them. They are not whiners. I listen when they talk. Sometimes, I disagreed with them, and we had healthy discussions.
I could go on and on and say a lot more about the work attitude of SOME expat teachers here is South Korea, but I need to stop at this point.
Let me just give the following parting shots: Expat teachers should perform in such a way that nobody would accuse them of being “mercenary teachers.” And if they think the universities where they are currently working do not measure up to their personal core values and standards of excellence, what should they do? Nobody is forcing them to stay. They must reject a contract extension should it be offered to them. They must leave and find their perfect university.
Magnilay Tayo
Sa bundok ng Golgotha’y umakyat
Pinasan ang krus hirap na hirap
Ikatlong hapon nang maganap
Pagkakatawang taong nagwakas
Kasalanan ay koronang tinik
Sibat na tumusok sa gilid
Kay Hudas tayo ay ang naghatid
Nang sa Mesiya s’ya ay humalik
Hinayaang si Hudas magtaksil
Di ba’t kusang loob nagpakitil
Utang nati’y sa Kanya siningil
Ang utang nating mga nagtaksil
Di ba’t dugo n’ya’y ipinanlinis
Sa pagkatao nating madungis
Kusang loob buhay ibinuwis
Nang tayo’y makapiling sa langit
Huminto’t magnilay kahit saglit
Lumuhod tayo’t mata’y ipikit
Sa Panginoon tayo’y sumandig
Walang hanggan ang Kanyang pag-ibig
M.A.D. LIGAYA
M.A.D. L I G A Y A 